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STI updates are blog posts from the BCCDC or our community partners about a variety of sexual health topics. These include program updates, clinical practice changes, new research, events, and more. We will not clutter your inbox with frequent emails, and your email address will not be used for any other purposes.
September 21, 2021 by Lauren Allan, Project Manager, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) will begin offering Express Testing at the STI clinic in Vancouver, on Tuesday, September 28th. Express Testing is a convenient and fast way to get routine STI/HIV tests, without being assessed by a nurse or physician. The new STI Express Testing appointments are part of an effort to…
September 14, 2021 by Troy Grennan, Physician Lead, STI Program, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
Mycoplasma genitalium is an STI that can cause genital symptoms similar to other STIs, including urethritis, cervicitis, and discharge. As it is not a reportable infection, and there is currently no evidence to support routine testing, we do not have good data on prevalence. The clinical teams at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)…
July 15, 2021 by Stephanie Gin, Nurse Educator, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
British Columbia (BC) is now the first province or territory in Canada to recommend one-time birth cohort screening for people born from 1945 to 1965. This update is included in recent revisions to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) Communicable Disease Control (CDC) Manual and Guidelines and Protocol Advisory Committee (GPAC) viral hepatitis…
July 8, 2021 by Terri Buller-Taylor, Research Manager, Hepatitis Education Canada Hepatitis, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
Chronic hepatitis C infection is a leading cause of liver-related illness and death. Liver disease and cirrhosis cause more deaths in Canada than HIV. Other Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections (STBBIs) can lead to serious health complications and, for people who are pregnant, infectious syphilis can be passed on to their infant and can lead…
May 21, 2021 by Monica Durigon on behalf of the University of British Columbia's Continuing Professional Development program (UBC CPD)
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) in partnership with The University of British Columbia’s Continuing Professional Development program (UBC CPD) are conducting focus groups to inform the development of a new online course on sexually transmitted and & bloodborne Infections (STIBBI) barriers to testing. They’re recruiting physicians, nurses and people who access STIBBI care from…
February 12, 2021 by Tessa Lawson Tattersall, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
Background The number of syphilis cases in British Columbia (BC) is increasing significantly, and has reached the highest rate of infection seen in over 30 years. This is echoed by Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer who has said that alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, we are “still in the midst of an outbreak of syphilis…
February 10, 2021 by Sarah Watt, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Background Anxiety and other mental health concerns are common among people accessing sexual health services, many of whom are not connected to mental health supports(1). A team of researchers from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and Simon Fraser University developed ‘Supporting and addressing anxiety in sexual health care: A resource for providers’, which…
January 31, 2021 by Oralia Gómez-Ramírez, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia; Hsiu-Ju Chang, Research Manager, BC Centre for Disease Control
Background Risk calculators for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) use responses to sociodemographic (e.g., age, sex, ethnicity, geographic location), health status, or behavioural questions to estimate a person’s risk for developing or acquiring STIs. They can also inform the most appropriate action for users to take. Identifying features for online risk calculators that…
January 25, 2021 by Sarah Watt, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Collaborators at the Health Initiative for Men, the Community-Based Research Centre, and Simon Fraser University have developed and launched MindMapBC. MindMapBC is an online database of accessible, free or low-cost, and/or LGBTQ2+-affirming mental health supports. Experiences of stigma, discrimination, and marginalization among LGBTQ2+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-, queer, Two-Spirit, and other gender- and sexually-diverse) people…
January 12, 2021 by Monica Durigon, Nurse Educator, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
What is an HIV self-test? Point of Care (POC) HIV tests, also known as “rapid” HIV tests, screen for HIV antibodies and have been used in clinics and health care settings for many years. On November 2, 2020, Health Canada approved the INSTI® HIV Self-Test for use and sale. It is the same test used…